THE  EVANGELICAL  CHURCH  IN 

EUROPE 

By  Rev.  T.  C.  Meckel 
BEGINNING'S  IN  GERMANY. 

From  the  very  beginning  the  essential  mission¬ 
ary  spirit  lived  in  the  Evangelical  Church,  con¬ 
straining  her  ministry  and  membership  to  practical 
missionary  endeavor.  In  her  early  days  many 
immigrants  from  the  European  continent  had  come 
Tinder  the  influence  of  her  missionaries.  Among 
those  were  former  subjects  of  Germany,  of  whom 
goodly  numbers  were  led  to  Christ  through  the 
preaching  of  the  Word  by  our  pastors  and  into  the 
Church.  Dfiring  the  pioneer  days  of  the  Evan¬ 
gelical  Church  the  preaching  was  largely  in  the 
German  language,  the  fruits  of  her  labors  were 
naturally  in  large  part  natives  of  Germany.  As 
a  result  converts  and  members  hailing  from  that 
country  became  interested  in  and  concerned  for  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  their  relatives  and  friends 
across  the  great  blue  deep.  Providentially  our 
Church  was  led  to  obey  the  missionary  exhorta¬ 
tion:  “Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters,”  and  thus 
we  find  that  the  taproot  of  her  missionary  enter¬ 
prise  on  the  European  continent  is  grounded  in  the 
United  States,  more  particularly  in  Pennsylvania, 
the  birth  state  of  the  Evangelical  Church. 

Under  the  favors  of  a  kind  Providence  abun¬ 
dant  fruits  have  been  brought  forth  from  the  very 
beginning,  and  latter  day  events  clearly  prove  that 
the  Evangelical  Church  has  a  mission  on  the  Euro¬ 
pean  continent. 

Through  the  labors  of  Evangelical  pastors  Se¬ 
bastian  Kurz,  a  native  of  Wuerttemberg,  who  had 
emigrated  to  Pennsylvania  and  settled  in  York  Co., 


9 


was  converted.  Having  experienced  the  great 
blessings  of  salvation  through  Christ  this  man 
joined  the  Evangelical  Church,  and  soon  there¬ 
after  was  elected  an  exhorter.  MovecT  by  the  love 
of  Christ  he  felt  an  intense  desire  that  his  friends 
and  countrymen  might  also  experience  salvation 
through  Christ.  This  desire  ripened  into  a  resolu¬ 
tion  to  return  to  the  land  of  his  birth  and  to  labor 
for  the  salvation  of  his  people.  In  the  spring  of 
1845  Sebastian  Kurz  started  on  his  long  journey 
to  Wuerttemberg.  This  simple-hearted,  consecrated 
layman  in  the  hand  of  God  became  the  first  prac¬ 
tical  missionary  of  our  Church  in  southern  Germany. 
Though  not  formally  commissioned  by  the  Church 
as  a  missionary,  yet  in  his  fervent,  loyal  heart 
there  glowed  the  love  of  Christ  constraining  him 
to  go  unhesitatingly  forward  to  his  task.  Con¬ 
cerning  Kurz,  Father  W.  W.  Orwig,  our  first  Church 
historian,  wrote  interestingly  as  follows:  “  Shortly 
before  his  departure  for  Europe  he  called  upon  us 
in  York,  Pa.,  and  we  furnished  him  a  brief  written 
statement  of  the  doctrines  and  principles  of  the 
Church,  together  with  a  number  of  our  books; 
but  that  he  should  labor  as  a  missionary 
or  that  he  was  capable  of  such  work  never 
entered  our  thoughts,  and  as  he  was  not  a  preacher 
in  this  country  we  could  not  judge  of  his  com¬ 
petency  in  that  respect.  We  do  not  doubt,  how¬ 
ever,  that  he  has  already  accomplished  some  intro¬ 
ductory  work  for  a  mission  in  Wuerttemberg  and 
that  he  would  prove  a  helpful  assistant  to  a  mis¬ 
sionary  in  Europe.” 

Having  labored  in  his  home  neighborhood,  Bon- 
landen,  near  Stuttgart,  about  a  year,  Kurz  wrote  a 
most  interesting  letter,  dated  March  23,  1846,  to 
Rev.  Christian  Holl,  a  relative.  Concerning  one 
service  he  says:  “Many  fell  upon  their  knees  in 
the  meeting  and  cried  to  God  for  mercy  and  pardon 

3 


....  I  now  have  strong  classes  in  three  villages 
where  I  preach  twice  a  week  and  hold  two  prayer- 
meetings/ ;  etc.  This  letter  was  published  in  the 
Christliche  Botschafter  and' made  a  deep  impression 
upon  the  entire  Church.  The  result  was  an  intensi¬ 
fied  interest  in  a  European  mission.  Not  only 
preachers  and  members  coming  from  Germany  and 
having  found  salvation  through  the  work  of  our 
Church  in  America  were  deeply  moved,  but  the 
leading  officials  as  well,  native  Americans,  became 
thoroughly  interested  in  the  new  enterprise,  namely 
Bishops  Seybert  and  Long,  W.  W.  Orwig,  C.  Ham¬ 
mer,  Adam  Ettinger,  Henry  Eischer  and  others.  In 
those  days  religious  liberty  in  Germany  was  greatly 
circumscribed,  and  the  resources  of  the  Church  were 
severely  taxed,  the  Lord,  however,  removed  ob¬ 
stacles.  Hearts  and  hands  were  opened  for  tne 
support  of  the  good  cause. 

In  the  fall  of  1849,  Revs.  C.  G.  Koch  and  J. 
Nikolai,  both  members  of  the  Ohio  Conference,  in  a 
confidential  talk  in  the  city  of  Cleveland  were  led 
to  discuss  the  portentous  movements  in  Europe. 
The  result  of  this  discussion  was  that  these  breth¬ 
ren  published  articles  in  the  Christliche  Botschaf¬ 
ter,  followed  with  articles  by  Revs.  J.  J.  Esher  and 
Henry  Bucks,  favoring  the  formal  establishment  of 
a  mission  in  Germany.  The  year  1850  being  the 
50th  year  since  the  organization  of  the  Evangelical 
Association,  it  was  considered  a  year  of  jubilee, 
in  which  missionary  gifts  as  thankofferings  were 
to  be  placed  on  God’s  altar,  and  it  was  resolved 
that  the  Germany  mission  should  be  opened  in  this 
year.  In  its  session  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  in  Febru¬ 
ary,  1850,  the  East  Pennsylvania  Conference  took 
the  proposed  mission  into  serious  consideration,  ex¬ 
pressing  itself  strongly  in  favor  of  the  same.  The 
remaining  annual  conferences  took  similar  action. 
In  an  appeal  issued  in  the  Church  paper  the  entire 

4 


denomination  was  called  to  earnest  prayer  in  behalf 
of  the  new  undertaking.  A  special  Board,  con¬ 
sisting  of  the  two  bishops  and  representatives  of 
the  five  annual  conferences  then  existing,  met  Sep¬ 
tember  9,  1850,  in  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  and  after  pray¬ 
erful  consideration  selected  Kevs.  John  G.  Link  of 
the  West  Pennsylvania  Conference,  and  John  G. 
Marquardt  of  the  New  York  Conference  as  mission¬ 
aries  to  Germany.  The  latter  was  unable  to  get 
ready  for  the  voyage;  Bro.  Link  and  family  arrived 
at  Bremerhaven  December  8,  1850.  Having  lab¬ 
ored  in  Hesse-Darmstadt,  his  native  land,  the  new 
missionary  with  his  family  moved  to  Stuttgart, 
Wuertt.,  where  the  friends  gave  him  a  cordial  re¬ 
ception,  but  not  so  the  local  clergy.  In  city  and 
country  many  remarkable  revivals  took  place,  and 
great  good  resulted. 

In  September,  1851,  the  General  Conference  at 
its  session  in  Flat  Pock,  Ohio,  appointed  Bev.  John 
Nikolai  as  missionary  to  Germany.  In  November, 
1851,  he  arrived  safely  at  his  destination.  Stormy 
times  impending,  Bro.  Link  rejoiced  to  have  Bro. 
Nikolai  as  counsellor  and  co-laborer.  The  latter  was 
appointed  to  Lauterbach,  Hesse-Darmstadt;  but 
here  the  work  was  hindered  so  that  Nikolai  re¬ 
turned  to  Wuerttemberg  to  labor  in  his  home  land 
wherever  the  Lord  opened  the  way.  At  the  dedica¬ 
tion  of  a  hall  in  Stuttgart  such  an  immense  crowd 
gathered  that  the  police  had  to  maintain  order. 
City  officials  mistrusted  and  opponents  were  stirred 
to  open  enmity.  A  few  days  later  our  missionaries 
received  a  notice  from  the  authorities,  ordering 
them  to  leave  the  city  and  country  within  24  hours. 
They  applied  to  Mr.  Fleischmann,  the  American  con¬ 
sul,  who  by  his  skilful  and  energetic  intervention 
succeeded  in  having  the  disgraceful  order  of  expul¬ 
sion  set  aside.  Good  friends  opened  their  homes  to 
the  missionaries  for  holding  meetings.  October  29, 


o 


1852,  they  were  cited  to  the  office  of  the  dean,  who 
informed  them  that  henceforth  they  were  prohibited 
from  laboring  in  public.  They  sought  to  be  useful 
in  other  ways  and  held  services  privately.  Soon 
thereafter  Bro.  Nikolai  found  an  entrance  in  Ploch- 
ingen  on  the  Neckar  river.  In  1854  a  great  revival 
broke  out  in  this  city.  The  sainted  Kevs.  J.  M. 
Haug  (later  of  the  Michigan  and  Indiana  Confer¬ 
ences)  and  G.  Fuessle,  editor  of  the  Evangelische 
Botschafter,  were  witnesses  of  this  gracious  re¬ 
vival.  At  other  places  the  missionaries  had  abun¬ 
dant  success.  After  a  few  years  of  toil,  Bro.  Nikolai 
suffered  from  serious  throat  trouble.  All  efforts 
to  overcome  it  proving  unavailing,  he  was  recalled 
by  the  Board  of  Missions  to  America,  and  Bev. 
John  G.  Wollpert  was  appointed  to  take  his  place. 
Sunday,  July  5th,  Bro.  W.  preached  his  first  ser¬ 
mon  in  Suttgart  and  Plochingen.  Sunday,  July 
26,  1857,  Bro.  Nikolai  preached  his  farewell  ser¬ 
mon  at  the  latter  place.  New  doors  of  usefulness 

♦ 

opened  and  despite  untoward  circumstances  the 
work  continued  to  prosper  and  expand.  In  1858 
Bro.  Link  visited  America.  Everywhere  he  was 
welcomed  with  joy  and  received  liberal  contribu¬ 
tions  for  the  work  in  Germany.  During  his  six 
months’  absence  Bro.  Wollpert  had  charge  of  the 
work.  About  this  time  young  Bro.  G.  Fuessle  be¬ 
gan  to  labor  in  public.  He  was  untiring  and  stud¬ 
ious.  In  1858  there  was  open  resistance  in  the  work 
in  Ebersbach,  Goeppingen.  In  later  years  the  Lord 
again  opened  the  way,  and  the  missionaries  entered 
Goeppingen,  where  we  now  have  a  prosperous  so¬ 
ciety. 

In  1859  the  first  meeting  house  was  dedicated 
in  Plochingen  near  Esslingen,  the  people  coming 
from  20  different  towns  in  Wuerttemberg.  The 
property  consisted  of  a  plain  dwelling  with  a  large 
hall  and  was  named  11  Tabernacle  of  Emanuel.” 


6 


The  first  “big  meeting' ’  was  held  the  same  year 
preceded  by  a  sort  of  conference  attended  by  15 
brethren  from  different  parts  of  the  work.  In  this 
year  the  Lord  also  opened  doors  in  the  upper 
Neckar  valley.  Despite  much  opposition  and  per¬ 
secution  on  the  part  of  pastors  and  members  of 
the  state  church  Bro.  Fuessle  continued  to  labor 
successfully  under  the  blessing  of  God.  In  April, 
1860,  he  was  formally  received  into  the  itinerant 
ministry.  Bro.  Wollpert  took  him  into  his  home 
and  together  they  served  Plochingen  circuit, 
numbering  24  appointments.  Sunday,  July  15,  1860, 
the  first  Sunday-school  was  opened  at  Plochingen, 
the  attendance  of  children  being  127,  and  the  fol¬ 
lowing  Sunday  over  200.  In  1861  Bro.  Puessle  was 
sent  to  the  “Oberland, "  and  Bro.  M.  Erdle,  an 
untiring  worker,  was  stationed  to  Plochingen.  In 
July,  1861,  Bro.  J.  P.  Schnatz  was  sent  from  Amer¬ 
ica  to  Germany.  Bro.  Fuessle  served  Heidenheim 
and  Ulm  in  charge  of  Bro.  Schnatz,  a  circuit  com¬ 
prising  20  regular  appointments,  which  could  be 
reached  only  on  foot. 

BEGINNINGS  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

As  early  as  July,  1852,  Rev.  John  Nikolai,  one 
of  our  first  missionaries  in  Europe,  journeyed  from 
Wuerttemberg  to  Switzerland  for  the  purpose  of 
locating  a  mission  in  this  country.  He  was  given 
permission  to  preach  in  the  muenster  in  Bern,  the 
capital  of  the  Swiss  republic,  and  although  the 
hour  had  not  struck  to  establish  a  mission  in  this 
romantic  country,  yet  Nikolai,  constrained  by  the 
spirit  of  genuine  missionary  enterprise,  in  the  early 
days  of  our  work  in  Europe  directed  the  attention 
of  the  Church  to  this  important  and  inviting  field. 
He  was  the  pioneer  missionary  of  the  Evangelical 
Association  in  Switzerland.  Moral  conditions  in 


this  country  at  the  time  were  similar  to  those  pre¬ 
vailing  in  Germany.  Rationalism  had  taken  deep 
root,  and  the  people  generally  led  unrepentant,  sin¬ 
ful  lives.  Unbelief  had  largely  taken  possession 
of  the  clergy  of  the  established  church.  Provi¬ 
dence  clearly  pointing  out  to  our  workers  in  Eu¬ 
rope  the  crying  spiritual  needs  of  the  Swiss  people, 
at  the  first  session  of  the  Germany  Conference  in 
1865,  held  in  Stuttgart,  the  Switzerland  mission  was 
called  into  existence  and  Rev.  G.  Fuessle  appointed 
its  first  missionary. 

With  Bishop  J.  J.  Esher  Bro.  Fuessle  on  March 
14,  1865,  journeyed  to  Switzerland.  The  former 
had  many  letters  of  introduction  from  friends  in 
America  to  their  relatives  in  the  Canton  St.  Gallen. 
The  very  first  call  of  the  bishop  and  Bro.  Fuessle 
at  the  home  of  a  merchant  in  Rorschach  met  with 
no  welcome,  whereupon  they  decided  to  journey  at 
night  to  Buchs.  The  following  morning  they  were 
taken  by  a  Mr.  Xaxier  Buehler  from  the  hotel  and 
entertained  at  his  home;  he  also  paid  the  hotel  bill 
of  his  guests.  A  daughter  of  this  man  was  a  mem¬ 
ber  of  our  church  in  America,  who  had  frequently 
written  him  that  in  the  Evangelical  Association  she 
had  found  a  good  church  home.  On  March  19,  1S65, 
Bishop  Esher  preached  his  first  sermon  in  Switzer¬ 
land  to  a  large  audience  in  Buchs.  From  this  place 
the  brethren  journeyed  to  the  Canton  Graubuend- 
ten.  In  Chur  they  were  roughly  accosted  by  a 
relative  of  American  friends,,  but  in  Hartenstein 
and  Felsburg  they  found  a  cordial  reception.  They 
were  privileged  to  preach  in  the  churches  to  large 
congregations.  After  Bro.  Fuessle  had  preached 
in  a  number  of  towns  to  large  gatherings,  meeting 
with  a  friendly  reception,  he  discovered  that  the 
newspapers  in  Chur  had  published  slanderous  art¬ 
icles  against  him.  He  was  unceremoniously  trans¬ 
ported  by  officers  at  different  places.  The  entire 

8 


Oanton  Graubuendten  was  stirred  against  the  bishop 
and  Fuessle.  Most  incredible  slanders  and  insinua¬ 
tions  were  spread  against  them,  and  in  four  weeks 
every  door  was  barred  against  the  new  missionary. 
After  these  experiences  in  the  upper  Rhine  valley 
the  brethren  journeyed  to  the  Bernese  <^Oberland.,, 
In  Ringenberg  on  Lake  Brienz  they  were  cordially 
welcomed,  and  the  bishop  preached  to  a  large  meet¬ 
ing.  From  this  place  they  traveled  to  Nieder- 
goldbaeh,  near  Burgdorf.  Before  parting  from 
Bro.  Fuessle,  Bishop  Esher  advised  him  to  put 
forth  efforts  in  the  Canton  Schaffhausen,  to  make 
his  abode  in  Buchs,  thence  to  seek  entrance  in  other 
directions. 

In  his  first  year  in  Switzerland  Bro.  Fuessle 
served  appointments  in  the  Cantons  Schaffhausen, 
Zuerich,  Glarus  and  St.  Gallen.  The  upper  Rhine 
valley  being  closed  in  the  summer  he  made  re¬ 
peated  trips  into  the  so-called  Klettgau,  finding 
favorable  openings.  He  moved  to  Neukirch, 
Schaffhausen.  In  the  Canton  Glarus  he  was  kindly 
received  in  Glarus,  Mollis,  etc.,  and  preached  to 
large  audiences.  His  twenty  preaching  places  were 
widely  separated,  the  Lord  abundantly  blessing  his 
labors.  In  the  spring  of  1866  Fuessle  married  and 
moved  to  Unterhallau.  Soon  thereafter  a  terrible 
storm  of  persecution  arose,  culminating  in  the  ban¬ 
ishment  of  himself  and  wife  from  Switzerland  under 
the  pretex't  that  Bro.  Fuessle  was  an  alien.  (He 
was  a  Swabian.)  He  had  scarcely  settled  in  Unter¬ 
hallau  when  he  received  a  document  stating  that 
he  was  not  wanted,  that  the  signers  were  enemies 
of  all  religious  societies  and  that  they  would  put 
forth  their  utmost  efforts  to  drive  him  away.  Bro. 
Fuessle  returned  to  Wuerttemberg,  and  Bro.  Jacob 
Schmidli,  a  native  Swiss,  was  appointed  to  take 
his  place. 


9 


In  1866  Rev.  Jacob  Kaechele,  of  Canada,  sent 
by  the  Board  of  Missions  to  Europe,  was  appointed 
by  the  Germany  Conference  to  Switzerland.  Bro. 
Bernhard  Beck  was  also  assigned  to  the  Swiss  work. 
Kaechele  moved  to  Bern,  extending  his  work  to 
Thun.  From  here  it  extended  to  Oberhofen,  Goldi- 
wyl,  etc.,  into  the  Bernese  ‘  ‘  Oberland, ”  to  Wengen- 
alp,  near  the  famous  “ Jungfrau,’ ’  to  Beatenberg, 
Interlaken,  later  into  the  Simmenthal  and  still  later 
into  the  Frutigthal.  In  the  “ Oberland”  the  jour¬ 
neys  of  the  missionary  were  frequently  most  diffi¬ 
cult  and  hazardous.  When  snow  storms  raged  in 
the  mountains  it  was  dangerous  to  meet  appoint¬ 
ments,  and  at  times  the  missionaries  had  bleeding 
feet.  In  the  course  of  the  year  1867  Bro.  Beck  was 
called  from  eastern  Switzerland  to  take  Bro. 
Schmidli ’s  place,  the  latter  being  sent  to  outposts. 
At  Burgdorf  Schmidli  preached  for  the  first  time 
May  19,  1867.  A  Sunday-school  was  organized  and 
soon  thereafter  bitter  opposition  developed.  The 
missionary  and  a  Sunday-school  teacher  were 
charged  with  conducting  a  school  without  a  teach¬ 
er  ’s  license.  Bro.  Schmidli  declared  that  the  Sun¬ 
day-school  could  not  possibly  be  classified  as  a 
public  school  within  the  meaning  of  the  law.  The 
missionary  and  teacher  were  each  fined  30  Francs. 
The  judge  was  severely  criticized  by  the  secular 
press  for  his  decision.  June  23,  1867,  Schmidli 
preached  for  the  first  time  in  Langenthal.  Meet¬ 
ings  were  largely  attended  and  people  were  con¬ 
verted.  Vehement  opposition  resulted  in  making 
the  cause  more  widely  known.  August  11,  1867, 
Schmidli  laid  the  foundation  for  a  wonderful  work 
in  Zofingen.  In  a  rented  room  he  began  his  lab¬ 
ors;  it  was  soon  too  small  and  the  missionary  rented 
the  first  story  of  the  house,  but  this  also  was  soon 
too  small.  The  meetings  were  transferred  to  the 
third  floor,  and  this  room  served  its  purpose  until 

10 


a  suitable  church  could  be  built.  In  that  upper 
room  hundreds  of  souls  were  led  to  Christ.  Speak-' 
ing  of  the  meetings  Bro.  Schmidli  wrote:  “Oh,  the 
heavenly  feasts,  the  ever  memorable  revelations  of 
God’s  power,  the  blessed  hours  of  Tabor  glory!” 
He  had  to  preach  in  almost  every  village  in  the 
neighborhood.  After  two  years  this  field  became 
self-supporting,  and  in  the  third  year  it  was  con¬ 
stituted  the  first  circuit  in  Switzerland.  A  large 
number  of  our  pastors  came  forth  from  this  field. 
Despite  bitter  opposition  the  work  moved  on  vic¬ 
toriously. 

The  first  district  meeting  in  Europe  was  held  in 
1867  in  Thun.  It  proved  a  great  blessing  and  en¬ 
couragement  to  all  participants.  In  one  service  60 
penitents  presented  themselves  in  public.  At  Erlen- 
bach  in  the  lower  Simmenthal  Bro.  Kaechele 
preached  for  the  first  time.  When  Bro.  Schmidli 
preached  there  August  22,  1867,  friends  and  foes 
gathered  in  large  numbers.  Scarcely  had  worship 
begun  when  a  great  tumult  arose;  cowbells,  tin 
pans,  horns  and  other  instruments  were  used  to 
cause  a  deafening  noise.  Two  weeks  later  Bro. 
Schmidli  held  a  remarkable  meeting  here,  such  as 
he  had  never  seen  before.  Perfect  quiet  prevailed, 
for  in  the  neighboring  house  lay  a  dead  man.  Many 
people  were  unable  to  get  into  the  place  of  wor¬ 
ship.  Solemnity  and  closest  attention  prevailed, 
hearts  were  deeply  affected,  and  the  power  of  God, 
which  finally  became  irresistible,  attended  the 
preaching  of  the  Word.  A  Stundist  by  the  name  of 
Klossner,  who  before  this  meeting  had  taken 
Schmidli  to  task,  forgot  all  about  his  criticisms. 
Many  people  cried  aloud  for  pardon,  some  fell  to 
the  floor  as  if  dead,  and  at  the  close  of  prayer 
none  arose.  Schmidli  tried  to  get  the  people  to 
their  feet  by  singing,  but  the  louder  he  sang  the 

11 


louder  they  cried  for  mercy.  Klossner,  under  deep 
conviction,  said  to  Schmidli:  “I  am  the  greatest 
of  hyprocrites,  I  thought  I  had  religion,  but  I  have 
none.”  From  9:30  until  11:30  o’clock  the  multi¬ 
tude  remained  on  their  knees.  Bro.  Schmidli  had 
never  before  experienced  such  manifestations.  He 
feared  the  police  might  arrest  all  participants,  but 
later  believed  they  could  not  have  done  so,  for  all 
was  under  the  control  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Scoffers 
were  struck  dumb,  and  terror  was  pictured  upon 
their  faces.  The  Stundist  Klossner,  realizing  the 
pardon  of  his  sins,  arose  to  his  feet  and  sang, 
“Now  thank  we  all  our  God  with  hearts  and  hands 
and  voices.”  The  enthusiastic  singing  raised  the 
people  from  their  knees.  No  one  could  be  induced 
to  leave,  so  at  midnight  Bro.  Schmidli  decided  to 
preach  a  second  time,  choosing  for  his  text  Gen. 
32:  26.  It  seemed  as  though  in  this  midnight  hour 
heaven  came  down  to  earth.  The  preacher  thought 
of  his  long  foot-tour  on  the  coming  day  (about  18 
miles)  and  succeeded  in  closing  the  meeting  at 
about  2  o’clock  in  the  morning.  The  next  morn¬ 
ing  early  Klossner  led  Schmidli  into  a  house  near¬ 
by  where  he  saw  a  sight  never  to  be  forgotten — 
instead  of  retiring  to  rest  penitent  seekers  had 
met  there  and  wrestled  as  Jacob  of  old  with  God. 
In  a  few  days  over  30  persons  were  converted. 

Two  weeks  after  this  remarkable  meeting  an¬ 
other  meeting  was  appointed,  and  Bro.  Schmidli 
expected  a  richly  blessed  service,  but  a  dark  night 
of  suffering  followed.  Near  the  place  of  meeting 
15  to  20  ferocious  fellows  surprised  and  surrounded 
him.  All  the  way  to  Wimmis,  a  distance  of  five  to 
six  miles,  they  treated  him  in  a  most  shocking 
manner.  Near  Wimmis  is  a  bridge  40  feet  high 
across  the  Simme  river.  A  threat  to  cast  Schmidli 
into  the  stream  did  not  frighten  him.  A  deep  di- 

12 


vine  peace  kept  his  heart  at  rest.  In  Wimmis  he 
was  cast  into  prison;  here  he  spent  a  night  never 
to  be  forgotten.  During  this  night  a  sister  ran  15 
miles  from  Erlenbach  to  Thun  to  inform  Bro. 
Schmidli’s  landlord  of  the  arrest,  who  telegraphed 
to  Bro.  Kaechele  in  Bern.  Great  was  the  surprise 
of  the  latter  when  he  arrived  in  Thun  with  the  first 
train  to  see  Bro.  Schmidli  free  and  happy,  coming 
to  meet  him.  Schmidli ’s  attorney  preferred  heavy 
charges  against  15  men  who  had  caused  his  arrest. 
Pressed  to  withdraw  his  suit  Schmidli  finally  con¬ 
sented  on  condition  that  charges  against  him  be 
withdrawn;  that  his  persecutors  publicly  confess 
their  wrong-doing;  that  in  the  future  they  molest 
no  Evangelical  preachers;  that  they  pay  all  costs. 
From  this  time  on  the  work  of  God  spread  wonder¬ 
fully,  on  all  hands  doors  were  opened  and  many 
souls  turned  to  the  Lord. 

In  the  year  1868-69  Geo.  Vetter  and  G.  Gaehr 
were  sent  to  Thun,  where  at  the  time  and  for  sev¬ 
eral  years  thereafter  the  work  was  of  greater  im¬ 
portance  than  in  the  capital  city  of  Bern.  Besides 
Thun  the  missionaries  had  22  regular  semi-monthly 
appointments.  Bro.  Gaehr  was  the  first  missionary 
to  go  to  Saanen,  36  miles  above  Thun.  This  place 
later  became  a  regular  appointment.  Bern  and 
surroundings  were  served  the  same  year  by  Bro. 
A.  H.  Beck.  Bro.  Schmidli  now  lived  in  Burgdorf, 
also  serving  Langenthal.  This  field  had  15  ap¬ 
pointments,  was  called  Aargau  mission  and  in¬ 
cluded  Zofingen,  Aarburg,  Hirschthal,  Rohrbach, 
Basel,  etc.  In  1868-69  J.  M.  Hurter  was  Schmidli  ;s 
assistant;  they  served  27  appointments.  In  1869- 
70  Zofingen  mission  increased  to  37  appointments, 
J.  Knapp  assisting.  This  was  a  very  stirring  but 
also  a  richly  blessed  year.  In  1870-71  Zofingen  mis¬ 
sion  became  the  first  circuit  in  Switzerland.  This 


13 


year  proved  a  year  of  trials  for  Bro.  Schmidli. 
His  colleague,  Bro.  G-.  Hofer,  died  after  a  short 
period  of  service.  Overwork  caused  Bro.  Schmidli  Js 
health  to  fail  rapidly. 

BEGINNINGS  IN  FRANCE  AND  RUSSIA. 

I.  Alsace. — In  the  beautiful  provinces  of  Alsace 
and  Lorraine,  since  the  war  transferred  to  France, 
religious  conditions  at  the  time  of  the  establishment 
of  missionary  work  by  the  Evangelical  Church  were 
practically  the  same  as  in  Germany  and  Switzerland. 
Hearing  the  insistent  call  for  help  from  these 
provinces,  rich  by  nature,  yet  spiritually  poor  and 
neglected,  the  missionary  forces  of  the  Church  re¬ 
sponded  to  the  same.  In  1866  Rev.  Jacob  Schaefle, 
a  native  of  Alsace,  converted  through  the  influence 
of  our  Church  in  America  and  later  joining  the 
ministerial  ranks  of  the  Illinois  Conference,  felt 
constrained  to  visit  his  native  land.  Received  in 
the  most  friendly  manner  he  was  permitted  to 
preach  in  a  number  of  churches.  Finding  many 
people  hungering  and  thirsting  for  the  Word  of 
God  Schaefle  proposed  to  the  Church,  through  the 
columns  of  the  Christliche  Botschafter,  that  a  mis¬ 
sion  be  established  in  Alsace.  In  the  year  1868 
Rev.  J.  P.  Schnatz,  formerly  of  the  Ohio  Confer¬ 
ence,  was  sent  by  the  European  Conference  to 
Strassbourg,  then  as  now  in  French  territory.  He 
fully  appreciated  the  difficulties  before  him.  Bi¬ 
shop  Esher,  a  native  Alsatian,  wept  tears  of  joy 
but  also  of  sympathy  for  the  new  missionary, 
happy  that  his  beloved  church  was  about  to  begin 
this  enterprise  in  the  land  of  his  birth. 

Through  the  good  offices  of  the  American  Vice- 
Consul,  Mr.  Theo.  Krueger,  Bro.  Schnatz  succeeded 
in  finding  a  house  in  Strassbourg  for  his  family. 
Upon  application  to  the  prefect  to  hold  religious 

14 


meetings  he  met  refusal.  He  had  to  content  him¬ 
self  with  private  gatherings  in  his  home,  only 
nineteen  persons  being  permitted  to  attend.  Bro. 
Schnatz,  through  Vice-Consul  Krueger,  the  Amer¬ 
ican  Consul  at  Strassbourg,  Mr.  Robinson,  and  the 
American  Ambassador  at  Paris,  General  Dix,  ap¬ 
plied  to  the  French  government  for  permission  to 
conduct  religious  services.  One  week  before  Christ¬ 
mas  in  1868  Bro.  Schnatz,  having  anxiously  waited 
and  alternately  hoped  and  feared  for  several 
months,  the  American  Consul  called  on  him  to 
communicate  the  gratifying  news  that  permission 
to  hold  religious  meetings  had  been  granted.  In 
a  new  locality  the  missionary  secured  a  larger 
room  and  living  quarters  in  order  to  accommodate 
more  people.  Eternity  alone  can  reveal  the  good 
accomplished  in  this  community  despite  all  hind¬ 
rances.  While  waiting  for  permission  from  Paris 
Bro.  Schnatz  had  preached  at  Wangen,  Bischweiler, 
Oberhoffen  and  Baldenheim  (Bishop  Esher’s  birth¬ 
place).  In  his  missionary  journeys  he  also  visited 
Duerenenzen,  Colmar  and  other  places  in  the  Rhine 
valley  and  entered  Lorraine.  He  traveled  great 
distances  on  foot  and  preached  almost  every  night. 
Small  rooms  were  packed  with  people,  and  often 
the  air  was  vitiated.  In  November,  1869,  a  chapel 
building  society  was  organized  in  Strassbourg. 
This  society  rendered  excellent  service  toward  the 
erection  of  a  church.  In  1870  the  membership  was 
60,  and  about  300  persons  attended  service.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  siege  of  Strassbourg  in  1871  Bro.  Schnatz 
and  family  suffered  many  hardships.  For  a  long 
time  they  were  cut  off  from  the  support  of  the 
Missionary  Society,  but  the  Lord  provided  wonder¬ 
fully.  Having  been  frightened  by  the  explosion 
of  a  bomb  in  their  house  Bro.  Schnatz  with  his 
family  left  Strassbourg,  and  remained  at  the  home 
of  his  father-in-law  in  Wuerttemberg  until  the 

15 


siege  of  Strasbourg  was  raised.  Being  a  foreigner 
he  was  permitted  with  his  family  to  leave  the  city. 
In  1873,  having  served  Strassbourg  successfully  for 
five  years,  Bro.  Schnatz  was  called  to  America  as 
collector  for  church  buildings  in  Europe.  Bro. 
K.  Zwingli,  now  a  veteran  of  the  Swiss  Confer¬ 
ence,  succeeded  him. 

On  April  13,  1871,  at  the  close  of  the  Franco- 
Prussian  wTar,  Jac.  Kaechele  and  Jac.  Schmidli 
entered  Colmar.  After  some  difficulty  in  securing 
permission  to  hold  religious  meetings  Schmidli  con¬ 
ducted  the  first  service  here  May  4,  1871,  in  a 
rented  hall.  From  the  beginning  meetings  were 
well  attended.  This  proved  one  of  Bro.  Schmidli  ;s 
most  blessed  years.  He  also  entered  the  important 
centers  of  Muelhausen  in  Upper  Alsace,  Muenster, 
near  the  Yosges  mountains  and  many  other  towns 
and  villages.  At  the  close  of  this  conference  year 
Bro.  Schmidli,  who  was  in  a  precarious  condition, 
emigrated  to  America  that  he  might  regain  his 
health. 

II.  Russia. — For  some  'years  before  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  our  missions  in  Russian  many  friends  of 
the  missionary  enterprise  both  in  America  and 
Europe  entertained  the  hope  and  desire  that  the 
Gospel  might  be  taken  by  missionaries  of  our 
Church  to  that  great  country.  Many  of  our  mem¬ 
bers  in  America  coming  from  Russia  clamored  for 
the  privilege  of  supporting  missions  in  their  native 
land.  On  the  occasion  of  his  episcopal  trip  to 
Europe  in  the  year  1910  Bishop  S.  C.  Breyfogel, 
accompanied  by  Rev.  Max  Richter,  superintendent 
of  Koenigsberg  district,  journeyed  to  Petrograd, 
Riga  and  other  important  centers  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  information  relative  to  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  mission  work  in  Russia.  So  urgent  were 
the  pleas  of  informed  Russian  people,  thoroughly 
understanding  the  spiritual  needs  of  their  coun- 

16 


trymen,  for  our  work  and  workers,  that  Bishop 
Breyfogel  in  the  Fall  of  the  same  year,  having 
reported  to  the  Board  of  Missions  the  result  of  his 
investigations,  advised  the  establishment  of  a  mis¬ 
sion  in  Russia.  After  due  consideration  the  Board 
of  Missions  resolved  that  our  Church  enter  Russia 
as  a  mission  field,  and  that  the  city  of  Riga  (now  in 
Latvia)  constitute  her  first  mission  in  that  coun¬ 
try.  The  North  German  Conference  declared  its 
willingness  to  supply  the  missionary  for  this  im¬ 
portant  new  enterprise,  and  the  Woman’s  Mission¬ 
ary  Society  generously  offered  to  furnish  the  means 
for  his  support.  Rev.  Reinhold  Barchet  was  the 
missionary  appointed  to  undertake  the  important 
task  of  locating  and  organizing  the  new  work. 
With  his  companion  he  arrived  at  Riga  on  May 
11,  1911.  On  his  new  field  of  activity  new  un¬ 
accustomed  problems  confronted  the  missionary. 
Private  devotional  meetings  were  allowed,  how¬ 
ever,  only  twenty-five  persons  were  permitted  to 
attend.  After  repeated  efforts  both  in  Riga  and 
Petrograd  the  new  missionary  finally  succeeded  in 
securing  permission  to  organize  a  society  with  a 
legally  drawn  up  constitution,  said  society  having 
the  name  “Evangelical  Association — White  Cross.” 
In  the  first  paragraph  of  the  constitution  the  ob¬ 
ject  of  this  society  was  stated  to  be  to  contribute 
toward  the  moral  uplift  of  the  people  in  accordance 
with  the  principles  of  the  Word  of  God.  In  order 
to  attain  this  object  permission  was  given  to  organ¬ 
ize  auxiliary  societies,  to  erect  benevolent  institu- 
tions,  and  to  publish  literature  in  all  parts  of  the 
Russian  empire.  The  society  having  elected  Bro. 
Barchet  president  he  was  privileged  to  deliver  ad¬ 
dresses  in  all  halls  rented  by  the  same.  Shortly 
after  the  organization  of  the  society  a  splendid 
hall  centrally  located  was  secured  in  Riga.  Both 
the  hall  and  the  meetings  had  to  be  reported  to 

17 


the  police.  After  further  parleying  with  the  , 
authorities  the  missionary  was  finally  given  to 
understand  that  he  might  go  on  with  his  work 
according  to  the  provisions  of  the  constitution  of 
the  society.  Under  the  manifest  favors  of  God 
the  work  moved  on  successfully,  many  souls  be¬ 
ing  won  for  Christ.  A  Sunday-school  was  organ¬ 
ized,  and  in  less  than  a  year’s  time  after  the 
organization  of  the  work  an  auxiliary  mission  was 
opened  on  the  opposite  shore  of  the  Duena  river. 
Here  the  hall  was  soon  too  small  to  accommodate 
the  people.  After  all  the  difficulties  experienced 
in  establishing  this  work  and  just  at  a  time  when 
it  was  in  the  enjoyment  of  healthful  development 
and  growth  came  the  cruel  world  war  which  tore 
it  asunder.  A  remnant  of  faithful  ones  remains, 
faithful  to  their  Lord  as  well  as  to  the  Church. 

III.  Poland. — Three  fields  of  the  Church  in 
the  new  republic  of  Poland  were  established, 
developed  and  fostered  by  our  North  German  Con¬ 
ference.  They  are  Posen  (Poznan),  Bromberg 
(Bydgoszcz),  and  Vandsburg  (Wiecbork).  On 
the  two  first  named  fields  the  membership  has  been 
greatly  reduced  on  account  of  removals.  Vands¬ 
burg  is  the  largest  field  in  Poland  with  ten  ap¬ 
pointments,  360  members,  ten  Sunday-schools  with 
292  scholars,  four  young  people’s  societies  and  a 
men’s  society  with  130  members.  Vandsburg  has 
chiefly  a  rural  membership,  our  people  own  land, 
and  for  this  reason  the  emigration  from  this  field 
has  not  been  as  general  as  from  other  parts  of  the 
country.  Since  the  work  in  Poland  can  no  longer 
be  managed  by  the  North  German  Conference  it 
naturally  comes  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Board 
of  Missions,  and  thus  is  a  charge  of  our  denomi 
nation. 


18 


CHURCH  INSTITUTIONS. 


Our  Publishing  Interests. — The  pioneer  leaders 
of  our  Church  work  in  Europe  fully  appreciating 
the  value  of  the  press  in  their  early  day  decided 
to  make  use  of  this  excellent  agency  in  furthering 
its  interests.  In  a  most  unpretentious  way  they 
launched  out  on  this  undertaking.  At  the  outset 
these  early  builders  of  our  European  Church  struc¬ 
ture  were  necessitated  to  move  along  cautiously 
and  slowly  in  establishing  any  new  enterprise. 
Near  the  close  of  the  year  1863  they  made  provi¬ 
sional  arrangements  to  publish  a  religious  paper. 
These  were  perfected  long  before  the  establishment 
of  a  publishing  house.  Certain  circumstances  re¬ 
quiring  prompt  and  energetic  action  the  brethren, 
in  those  days  of  rather  slow  transportation,  finding 
it  quite  impossible  to  await  ratification  on  the  part 
of  the  authorities  in  America,  decided  to  proceed 
at  once  in  starting  the  new  enterprise.  Bro. 
Schnatz  said  to  Bro.  Wollpert:  “I  nominate  you 
as  editor,  and  we  will  all  assist  you.”  The  latter 
undertook  the  work,  the  brethren  invoking  God’s 
blessing  and  all  laboring  together  harmoniously, 
and  thus  the  undertaking  succeeded.  The  new 
publication  received  the  appropriate  name  Evail- 
gelische  Botschafter  (Evangelical  Messenger),  the 
first  issue  appearing  late  in  December,  1863,  as  a 
16-page  paper  bearing  the  suggestive  and  appro¬ 
priate  motto  on  its  title  page:  “In  essentials  un¬ 
ity,  in  non-essentials  liberty  and  in  all  things  love.” 
The  first  article  for  this  new  periodical  was  writ¬ 
ten  by  Bro.  J.  P.  Schnatz  on  the  subject:  “Jesus 
Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  today  and  forever.  ’  ’ 
J.  P.  Raiger  in  Nuertingen,  Wuertt.,  was  the  prin¬ 
ter.  The  paper  succeeded  beyond  all  expectation, 
was  well  supported  and  read  with  general  interest. 
Concerning  this  new  and  timely  undertaking  Bro. 

19 


Schnatz  wrote  as  follows:  “By  the  grace  of  God 
we  succeeded  in  bringing  into  existence  the  Evan- 
gelisehe  Botscliafter  in  its  modest,  though  decided 
attitude.  This  was  accomplished  by  trust  in  God 
and  the  voluntary  support  of  our  friends  without 
financial  aid  from  America;  the  accounts  soon 
showed  a  surplus,  which  was  applied  to  the  further¬ 
ance  of  Christ ’s  kingdom.  Ever  since  it  has  ac¬ 
complished  much  good,  which  can  only  be  revealed 
in  the  light  of  eternity.  ’  ’  From  time  to  time  the 
circulation  of  the  Evangelische  Botschafter  in¬ 
creased  rapidly,  the  laity  as  well  as  ministry  and 
young  and  old  co-operating  in  extending  its  in¬ 
fluence  as  widely  as  possible.  In  1864  a  small 
hymn-book  was  published,  which  proved  of  great 
benefit  to  the  Sunday-schools,  also  finding  much 
favor  in  other  circles  and  being  used  to  great  ad¬ 
vantage.  The  children  sang  with  great  joy  from 
this  book. 

The  need  of  a  Sunday-school  publication  hav¬ 
ing  been  keenly  felt  for  some  time  the  pastors  had 
endeavored  for  years  to  supply  the  same  by  the 
use  of  small  tracts.  Often  had  the  advisability  of 
issuing  a  Kinderfreund  for  the  children  and  youth 
been  discussed,  but  on  account  of  a  lack  of  means 
such  a  periodical  did  not  appear  until  early  in  the 
year  1870.  It  was  given  the  name  Der  EVangeli- 
sche  Kinderfreund  (Evangelical  Children’s  Friend). 
Bro.  Lorenz  Eisenhardt  was  its  first  editor.  Great 
joy  prevailed  when  the  first  number  of  this  paper 
was  distributed  in  the  Sunday-schools.  It  first  ap¬ 
peared  as  a  monthly,  but  already  in  its  second  year 
it  was  published  semi-monthly  and  later  as  a  week¬ 
ly.  As  such  it  has  been  issued  ever  since,  being 
read  by  a  great  host  of  readers.  By  the  year  1875 
the  Evangelische  Botschafter  already  had  10,552 
subscribers,  which  number  through  the  decades  has 
more  than  tripled.  In  1878  the  European  publish- 

20 


ing  house  in  Stuttgart  was  established.  In  the  fine 
large  building  on  Schlosstrasse  in  the  beautiful 
capital  of  Wuerttemberg,  also  used  for  church  ser¬ 
vices,  the  literature  of  the  church  in  Europe  was 
printed  for  many  years.  After  a  successful  ex¬ 
pansion  of  the  business  under  God’s  blessing  and 
the  commendable  co-operation  of  our  forces  its  re¬ 
moval  in  the  year  1902  to  the  present  splendid 
building  on  Senefelderstrasse  was  an  epoch  in  the 
history  of  our  European  publishing  interests.  This 
change  was  made  under  the  efficient  administration 
of  Publisher  A.  H.  Beck,  who  still  has  his  home 
under  the  hopsitable  roof  of  the  publishing  house 
in  Stuttgart.  Bro.  R.  Kuecklich,  the  present  cap¬ 
able  publisher,  also  lives  within  its  walls.  Editor 
Max  Richter  has  charge  of  the  Church  publications, 
emanating  regularly  from  this  great  institution  of 
the  Church.  Through  the  mighty  influence  for 
good  constantly  pouring  forth  from  our  publshing 
concern  in  Stuttgart  the  interests  of  our  beloved 
Church  on  the  European  continent  are  being  splen¬ 
didly  fostered  and  advanced. 

In  the  course  of  time  a  branch  publishing  house 
was  established  in  Bern,  Switzerland,  which  is  also 
enjoying  a  successful  business  career.  The  present 
efficient  publisher  of  this  concern  is  Bro.  P.  F. 
Schaer  and  the  editor  of  the  Evangelische  Botschaf- 
ter  Bro  S.  F.  Maurer.  Both  European  publishing 
houses  are  amenable  to  the  Board  of  Publication  in 
America,  having  under  its  supervision  all  publishing 
interests  of  the  Church. 

The  Deaconess  Cause. — Recognizing  the  splendid 
advantages  of  the  noble  deaconess  cause  our  work¬ 
ers  in  Europe  over  35  years  ago,  about  the  year 
1887,  called  for  sisters  willing  to  dedicate  them¬ 
selves  to  the  ministry  of  suffering  humanity.  From 
the  very  beginning  of  this  most  worthy  enterprise 
the  signal  blessings  of  God  have  attended  the  lab-. 

21 


ors  of  our  deaconesses  on  the  European  continent. 
Not  only  are  these  consecrated,  well  trained  and 
gifted  sisters  able  to  minister  to  the  physical  wants 
of  their  patients,  but  to  their  spiritual  needs  as 
well.  They  are  trained  Christian  nurses  who  in 
their  service  of  love  meet  the  needs  of  both  soul 
and  body.  When  a  terrible  cholera  scourge  was 
visited  upon  Hamburg  in  the  year  1892  and  terror- 
stricken  residents  fled  before  its  devastating, 
murderous  onslaught  Evangelical  deaconesses,  con¬ 
strained  by  their  love  for  Christ  and  perishing  hum¬ 
anity,  took  their  lives  into  their  hands  and  cour¬ 
ageously  journeyed  to  that  troubled  city  with  its 
terrified  inhabitants  to  render  aid  so  far  as  lay 
within  their  power.  We  have  reason  to  rejoice 
that  through  our  blessed  deaconess  institution  in 
Europe  workers  of  such  noble  Christian  character 
and  disposition  were  trained.  What  an  evidence 
their  lives  and  labors  are  of  the  real  worth  of  the 
Christian  religion.  Little  need  we  be  surprised 
that  our  pastors  readily  acknowledge  that  to  the 
unselfish,  untiring  labors  of  our  consecrated  deacon¬ 
esses  much  of  the  success  of  our  work  in  Europe  is 
due.  The  parent  home  of  this  institution  is  located 
at  Elberfeld,  Germany,  where  deaconesses  are 
trained.  In  Germany,  Switzerland  and  Alsace  we 
have  at  present  in  round  numbers  450  deaconesses, 
many  of  whom  are  located  in  large  centers  of 
population,  ministering  to  thousands  of  patients 
annually.  As  a  result  of  more  recent  developments 
on  the  European  continent  the  members  of  this 
great  benevolent  institution,  with  others,  recognized 
the  great  need  of  establishing  orphanages  and  old 
people ’s  homes  for  the  care  of  the  many  orphans 
and  dependent  old  people.  In  Herrenalb  and 
Ilonau,  Wuertt.,  the  South  Germany  Conference 
has  established  Old  People’s  Homes,  and  in  Gross- 
Tabarz,  Thuringia,  the  North  Germany  Conference 

22 


lias  a  home  for  children  and  Bad  Wildungen 
near  Cassel,  has  a  splendid  relief  and  Old  People’s 
home.  In  Switzerland  also  the  establishment  of  an 
orphange  and  an  old  peoples’  home  has  recently 
been  considered. 

Educational  Institutions. — In  the  course  of  the 
development  of  our  work  in  Europe  the  great  im¬ 
portance  of  the  cause  of  education  was  recognized. 
The  Theological  Seminary  at  Reutlingen,  Wuertt., 
established  in  1877,  had  for  its  first  director  Rev. 
J.  Kaechele.  Although  this  institution  proved  a 
distinct  blessing  to  the  cause  in  training  young 
men  in  Europe  for  the  ministry  before  the  erection 
of  the  splendid  seminary  buidling,  yet  its  success 
dates  more  especially  from  the  time  in  the  year 
1905,  when,  by  the  help  of  our  forces  in  America 
and  Europe  (the  Young  People  having  a  consid¬ 
erable  share  in  the  work),  this  edifice  was  erected. 
The  successful  leaders  of  this  splendid  training 
school  for  our  theological  students  were  Eevs.  A. 
H.  Beck,  G.  Heinmiller,  (later  editor  of  the  Christ- 
liche  Botschafter  and  since  1915  bishop,  until  his 
death  in  1922),  J.  Schempp,  sr.,  and  Dr.  E.  Frick. 
The  last  named  is  at  present  the  efficient  director 
of  the  seminary.  He  and  Rev.  J.  Schempp,  jr.,  and 
F.  Schweingruber  (the  last  named  of  the  Switzer¬ 
land  Conference)  are  training  our  candidates  from 
the  three  European  conferences  for  the  Gospel 
ministry.  Many  of  our  successful  ministers  are 
graduates  of  this  excellent  institution  and  are  to¬ 
day  rendering  valuable  service  in  practically  all 
parts  of  our  European  work.  After  the  recent 
trying  years  the  management  took  up  its  arduous 
duties  with  new  courage  and  zeal.  The  students, 
of  whom  there  are  at  present  about  26,  have  their 
rooms  and  board  in  the  seminary  building.  Be¬ 
sides  pursuing  their  courses  of  study  they  are  called 
upon  to  render  practical  service  in  the  field,  fill- 

23 


ing  preaching  appointments  on  adjacent  charges. 
Although  the  attendance  at  Reutlingen  Seminary 
is  considered  quite  encouraging,  yet  the  cry  for 
more  trained  workers  in  the  Gospel  ministry  con¬ 
tinues  insistent  both  in  Europe  and  America. 

Sunday-school  Activities. — At  the  very  outset 
of  our  undertakings  in  Germany  and  Switzerland 
the  pioneers  of  our  Church  had  a  clear  conception 
of  the  significance  and  importance  of  the  Sunday- 
school  as  an  institution  for  the  accomplishment  of 
practical  good.  Soon  after  the  establishment  of 
our  Church  work  in  those  lands  the  value  of  the 
press  as  an  agency  for  practical  missionary  en¬ 
deavor  being  fully  appreciated  by  our  workers  was 
soon  utilized.  Realizing  the  need  of  special  liter¬ 
ature  for  successful  Sunday-school  work  this  was 
promptly  introduced.  Soon  after  the  appearance 
of  the  “  Evangelische  Botschafter  ’  ’  the  “Evange- 
lische  Kinderfreund”  made  its  initial  bow,  and 
not  long  thereafter  a  Sunday-school  song  book  was 
published.  Out  of  this  book  the  children  sang  with 
great  joy.  Calling  to  mind  the  continued  bitter 
opposition  to  our  Sunday-schools  in  many  parts  of 
the  work  (especially  in  Saxony)  on  the  part  of 
forces  of  the  established  Church  it  is  really  sur¬ 
prising  and  worthy  of  comment  how  under  God’s 
blessing  and  approval  this  enterprise  nevertheless- 
flourished  and  grew.  The  divine  blessing  attended 
our  Sunday-school  activities  in  Europe  in  a  signal 
manner  and  in  abundant  measure,  and  through  the- 
passing  decades  the  Lord  in  his  gracious  providence 
overruled  events  in  such  a  manner  that  relentless 
opposition,  which  at  one  time  had  made  it  possible 
to  reduce  to  a  pitiful  little  company  Sunday-schools 
numbering  participants  by  the  hundreds,  was  over¬ 
come.  Let  us  briefly  consider  facts  concerning  our 
Sunday-schools  in  Europe.  Take,  e.  g.,  our  two- 
large  prosperous  Sunday-schools  in  the  city  of 

24 


ICoenigsherg  in  Eastern  Prussia,  with  a  membership 
in  round  numbers  of  2,400.  Think  of  our  Sunday- 
schools  in  Berlin  with  about  1,400  participants,  of 
those  in  the  industrial  section  of  Germany  (includ¬ 
ing  Muehlheim  on  the  Ruhr,  Essen,  Bochum,  Dort¬ 
mund,  Gelsenkirchen,  etc.)  with  their  thousands  of 
Sunday-school  members;  then  let  us  remember  that 
in  Dresden,  Stuttgart,  Reutlingen,  Zofingen,  Zue- 
rich,  Burgdorf,  etc.,  and  in  Strassburg,  Alsace,  etc., 
there  are  many  more  large  Sunday-schools,  together 
numbering  participants  by  the  thousands.  The 
Sunday-school  of  our  Koenigsberg  Second  church 
has  in  round  numbers  1,200  members,  being  our 
largest  Sunday-school  in  Europe. 

Today  the  membership  of  our  Sunday-schools  in 
Europe  exceeds  that  of  the  congregations  by  almost 
one-half,  the  Sunday-school  membership  in  Switzer¬ 
land  being  nearly  treble  that  of  the  congregations. 
According  to  the  latest  obtainable  statistics  the 
congregations  in  the  North  Germany  Conference 
number  10,717  Church  members  and  16,672  Sun¬ 
day-school  members;  the  South  Germany  Conference 
10,219  Church  members  and  19,872  members  of 
Sunday-schools  and  the  Switzerland  Conference 
7,503  Church  members  and  17,542  Sunday-school 
members.  In  North  and  South  Germany  we  have 
in  1921  a  grand  total  of  350  Sunday-schools  (gain 
17)  with  2,059  officers  and  teachers  (gain  261)  and 
34,485  scholars  (gain  5,610).  The  grand  total  of 
Sunday-school  membership  of  both  Germany  Con¬ 
ferences  (including  officers  and  teachers)  is  36,- 
716.  The  Switzerland  Conference  (including  Al¬ 
sace)  reports  191  Sunday-schools  with  735  officers 
and  teachers  and  16,807  scholars;  total,  17,542 
(gain  885.)  The  grand  total  membership  of  our 
Sunday-schools  in  Europe  amounts  to  54,086.  What 
a  mighty  host  of  Sunday-school  workers  and  schol¬ 
ars,  promising  great  things  for  the  future  of  our 

25 


cause  and  Christ’s  kingdom!  Already  many  effi¬ 
cient  workers  for  the  cause,  locally  and  generally, 
have  come  forth  from  our  Sunday-schools  in  Eu¬ 
rope.  Among  these  are  capable  preachers  of  the 
Gospel,  noble  workers  in  the  deaconess  cause  con¬ 
secrated  to  the  needs  of  suffering  humanity  and 
splendid  forces  for  the  missionary  enterprise  both 
at  home  and  abroad. 

Catechetical  Instruction. — It  is  greatly  to  be 
desired  that  the  value  of  catechetical  instruction 
might  be  appreciated  in  our  American  conferences 
as  is  generally  the  case  in  our  work  in  Europe. 
In  these  days  of  superficial  teaching,  when  the 
doctrines  of  the  Scriptures  are  not  properly  empha¬ 
sized,  catechetical  instruction  has  become  a  matter 
of  all  the  greater  significance  and  importance. 
‘ 1  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and 
when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it.”  On 
practically  all  our  European  fields  of  labor  we  have, 
catechetical  classes:  an  enviable  record.  In  these 
the  children  are  thoroughly  indoctrinated  in  the 
teachings  and  truths  of  the  Bible.  By  this  training 
they  are  prepared  for  subsequent  important  steps 
and  decisions  in  life,  and  many  are  directly  led  to 
the  Saviour  and  into  the  experience  of  pardoning 
grace.  The  following  statistical  facts  with  refer¬ 
ence  to  this  most  useful  educative  institution, 
affecting  the  lives  of  the  children  in  our  European 
work,  are  both  instructive  and  gratifying.  In  the 
North  Germany  Conference  there  are  106  catechet¬ 
ical  classes  with  855  catechumens;  in  the  South  Ger¬ 
many  Conference  70  such  clases  and  568  catechu¬ 
mens,  and  in  the  Switzerland  Conference  there  are 
60  catechetical  classes  with  568  catemumens.  The 
grand  total  number  of  catechetical  classes  in  Efirope 
is  236  with  a  membership  of  1,994. 

Young  People’s  Work. — Since  the  General  Con¬ 
ference  in  the  year  1891  organized  the  Young  Peo- 

26 


pie’s  Alliance  our  European  conferences  partici¬ 
pated  in  this  educational  feature  of  Church  work 
with  ever  increasing  interest.  With  splendid  lead¬ 
ership,  which  is  of  greatest  importance  in  work 
among  young  people,  success  attended  the  efforts  of 
enlisting  the  interest  and  intelligent,  effective  co¬ 
operation  of  our  youthful  forces  in  Europe  in 
practical  Church  work.  According  to  statistics  sub¬ 
mitted  to  our  European  conferences  in  the  current 
year  there  are  in  the  North  Germany  Conference 
134  Evangelical  Leagues  with  a  membership 
of  5,543,  in  the  South  Germany  Conference  145 
Leagues  having  a  membership  of  6,252,  and  in  the 
Switzerland  Conference  (including  Alsace)  75 
Leagues  with  a  membership  numbering  2,583.  In 
our  three  European  conferences  the  grand  total  of 
Leagues  amounts  to  354,  these  having  a  membership 
of  14,378.  Recently  the  interest  in  the  cause  of  our 
young  people  in  the  old  lands  of  the  Reformation 
has  grown  rapidly  and  in  a  most  gratifying  way.  In 
order  that  they  might  be  trained  to  co-operate  in 
practical  endeavors  for  the  Lord,  the  Church  and 
the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  as  systematic  and  uniform 
a  way  as  possible^  and,  furthermore,  inasmuch  as 
efficient  leadership  in  the  cause  of  the  Evangelical 
League  in  this  critical  time  of  transition  and  recon¬ 
struction  in  European  countries  both  in  church  and 
state  will  prove  of  most  vital  importance  to  the 
cause  of  Christ,  our  conferences  in  Germany  and 
the  Switzerland  conference  became  convinced  that 
the  time  had  come  when  it  was  advisable  to  entrust 
the  work  of  their  young  people  to  special  secreta¬ 
ries.  The  men  elected  to  these  important  positions 
are:  In  the  North  Germany  Conference  W.  Joern,  in 
the  South  Germany  Conference  L.  Maier,  and  in  the 
Switzerland  Conference  E.  Reimann.  The  cause 
has  entered  upon  a  new  era  of  prosperity.  The 
picture  in  this  column  presents  to  the  readers  the 

27 


youthful  leaders  of  our  Young  People’s  Work  in 
the  European  conferences. 

For  the  purpose  of  mutual  encouragement,  to 
effect  co-operation  of  the  forces  and  in  order  to 
work  most  effectively  the  widely-extended  field 
the  young  people’s  societies  were  grouped  into  five 
districts,  viz.:  Duesseldorf,  Hannover,  Kassel,  Ber¬ 
lin  and  Danzig.  Each  district  is  under  the  leader¬ 
ship  of  a  committee  of  five.  Each  group  conducts 
uniform  courses  for  leaders,  holds  district  rallies 
and  arranges  for  deputation  and  visitation  work 
among  the  societies. 

Concerning  work  among  the  young  people  of  the 
Switzerland  Conference  Secretary  E.  Reimann 
writes  as  follows: 

“  Since  June,  1919,  after  thorough  preliminary 
work,  we  effected  a  reorganization  of  the  young 
people’s  work.  The  annual  conference  elected  a 
Young  People’s  board,  which  has  charge  of  the  en¬ 
tire  young  people’s  work,  including  all  Evangelical 
Leagues  and  Sunday-schools.  With  the  assistance 
of  the  Young  People’s  Secretary,  who  has  traveled 
for  a  number  of  years  visiting  all  congregations,  so¬ 
cieties  and  Sunday-schools,  the  Board  endeavors  to 
effect  uniformity  on  the  entire  territory,  to  bring 
leaders  and  members  into  touch  with  each  other,  to 
deepen  the  spiritual  life  of  the  young  people,  to 
effect  joint  action,  to  foster  the  young  people’s 
work,  to  be  concerned  with  the  solution  of  problems 
as  they  arise  and  to  advise  individual  congrega¬ 
tions,  societies  and  Sunday-schools. 

Our  Forward  Movement  objectives  are:  1.  Con¬ 
ducting  a  course  for  teachers  at  four  different 
places;  2.  a  gain  of  2,000  new  Sunday-school  schol¬ 
ars;  3.  to  secure  for  the  ‘  Jugendfreund’  an  average 
of  ten  new  subscribers  on  each  field  of  labor;  4. 
to  secure  funds  looking  toward  the  establishment 
of  a  ‘Young  People’s  and  Bible  Home’  (the  first 

28 


aim  for  this  project  was  10,000  francs).  Most 
gratifying  results  have  thus  far  been  achieved. 
Most  of  our  pastors  have  reorganized  and  in  con¬ 
formity  with  the  general  organizations  have  placed 
the  leading  appointments  of  their  charges  under  the 
supervision  of  one  local  Young  People’s  board.  The 
interests  of  the  young  people  are  represented  by  the 
1  Jugendfreund,  ’  a  paper  which  is  greatly  appreci¬ 
ated.  Our  general  aims,  briefly  stated,  are:  Saving 
young  people  by  saved  young  people,  training  saved 
young  people  for  missionary  service  and  preparing 
them  for  the  return  of  the  King.  Our  weapons  are 
unalterably  God’s  Word,  a  faithful  prayer-life  and 
zealous  labor  in  great  and  little  things.” 

From  the  youthful  circles  of  our  blessed  work 
in  Europe  the  Church  has  won  a  number  of  mis¬ 
sionary  workers  for  service  in  the  foreign  field. 
In  the  year  1876  the  then  youthful  missionary  A. 
Halmhuber  journeyed  from  Wuerttemberg  by  way 
of  America  to  far-off  Japan.  His  companion,  nee 
Kaechele,  also  came  from  that  country.  Other 
missionaries  of  our  Church  from  South  Germany 
are  Mrs.  C.  B.  Wahl  (daughter  of  Rev.  J.  Schempp, 
sr.,)  and  Miss  Natalie  Berner  (daughter  of  the 
sainted  Rev.  C.  Berner)  for  many  years  one  of  our 
faithful  kindergarteners  in  Japan.  Miss  Martha 
Schroedter,  missionary  in  China,  hails  from  Silesia 
and  is  a  fruit  of  our  North  Germany  Conference. 
Miss  Gertrude  Kuecklich,  kindergartener  in  Japan, 
is  the  daughter  of  our  efficient  publisher  in  Stutt¬ 
gart. 

PRESENT  STATUS  OF  THE  WORK. 

Throughout  the  terrifying  years  of  the  war  and 
as  a  result  of  its  frightful  aftermath  our  European 
conferences  underwent  great  suffering.  Although 
the  loss  both  in  pastors  and  members  in  these  dark 
days  of  testing  was  a  very  severe  one,  yet  it  may 

29 


be  gratefully  said  that  in  the  very  midst  of  the 
war-period  the  work  was  blessed  with  glorious  spir¬ 
itual  victories,  causing  it  to  develop  in  its  inner 
life  as  well  as  outwardly  and  to  be  strengthened. 
Our  forces  laboring  together  under  the  greatest 
hardships  and  hindrances  united  in  self-denying 
devotion  and  earnest,  untiring  labor,  and  in  great 
mercy  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  blessed  their  en¬ 
deavors  in  his  name  and  gave  the  increase.  Many 
of  our  workers  either  fell  in  the  war  or  were  the 
victims  of  diseases,  resulting  from  and  contracted 
in  the  appalling  days  of  the  gigantic  struggle. 
Despite  these  losses,  with  such  as  are  to  be  ex¬ 
pected  under  normal  conditions,  the  cause  never¬ 
theless  under  God’s  blessing  moved  forward  suc¬ 
cessfully. 

The  active  missionary  spirit  of  the  Evangelical 
Church,  thank  God,  in  a  very  definite  way  actuates 
her  forces  in  Europe.  By  this  spirit  her  various 
institutions,  interests  and  activities  are  permeated 
and  constrained  to  service.  By  the  wide  dissemi¬ 
nation  of  our  periodicals,  books  and  other  Chris¬ 
tian  literature  a  veritable  stream  of  blessing  flows 
forth  from  our  publishing  house  in  Stuttgart, 
Wuertt.,  over  the  bounds  of  our  two  German  con¬ 
ferences,  the  influence  of  wdiich  cannot  be  esti¬ 
mated.  In  their  endeavors  to  expand  the  influence 
for  good  of  our  literature  our  pastors  have  the 
cheerful  assistance  of  official  members  of  churches, 
Young  People’s  workers,  deaconesses  and  others. 
It  is  not  surprising,  considering -this  fact,  that  our 
Church  papers  in  Europe  are  so  widely  circulated 
and  wield  so  great  an  influence  for  good.  Prom 
our  book  concern  in  Bern  abundant  blessings  flow 
through  our  periodicals,  books,  etc.,  over  the  work 
in  Switzerland  and  Alsace-Lorraine.  The  follow¬ 
ing  brief  summary  shows  the  circulation  of  our 

30 


leading  periodicals  in  relation  to  our  membership 
in  the  three  European  conferences: 

“Der  Evangelische  “Der  Evangelische 
Subscribers  Botschafter ’ ’  Kinderfreund” 


North  German — 

11,300 

11,500 

South  German — 

17,093 

17,172 

Switzerland  and 

Alsace-Lorraine 

8,151 

8,115 

Total 

36,544 

36,78  7 

With  their  pastors  our  young  people  in  Europe 
in  their  Leagues  are  earnestly  engaged  in  the  Lord’s 
work.  These  fresh,  youthful  forces,  dedicating 
themselves  in  the  spirit  of  love  to  the  Lord’s 
cause,  accomplish  much  good.  The  splendid 
deaconess  cause,  which  is  active  in  its  ministrations 
of  love  in  the  greater  part  of  our  European  work, 
is  a  mighty  factor  in  the  furtherance  of  God’s 
cause  in  general  a!nd  the  influence  of  the  Evan¬ 
gelical  Church  in  particular.  The  noble  ser¬ 
vices  rendered  by  our  deaconesses  in  behalf  of 
suffering  humanity,  the  splendid  work  of  parish 
sisters  and  of  women  in  many  missionary  societies 
in  large  part  contribute  toward  the  upbuilding  and 
enhancement  of  God’s  cause  in  Europe.  Since  the 
war  the  noble  cause  of  Old  People’s  and  Orphans’ 
Homes  in  North  and  South  Germany  and  Switzer¬ 
land  has  come  into  existence  and  promises  under 
God’s  blessing  to  prove  successful.  In  the  South 
Germany  Conference  Honau  “Pilgerheim”  pro¬ 
vides  for  more  than  35  aged  people.  The  relief 
home  1 1  Gruenerwald”  in  Herrenalb  is  providing 
for  many  needy  ones.  A  series  of  Bible  Confer¬ 
ences  are  conducted  here  annually.  The  North 
Germany  Conference  has  a  beautiful  Old  People’s 
and  Belief  home  at  Bad  Wildungen  near  Cassel 
and  a  splendid  orphange  at  Gross-T'abarz  in  Thu- 

31 


ringia.  The  Swiss  Conference  too  is  establishing 
similar  institutions  within  its  bounds. 

Although  the  work  in  Alsace-Lorraine  had  for 
some  time  been  in  a  critical  condition,  yet  under 
the1  gracious  providence  of  God  in  recent  years  it 
was  privileged  to  enjoy  seasons  of  blessing  and  re¬ 
freshing  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord.  Our 
pastors  and  their  faithful  coworkers  are  filled  with 
new  courage  to  move  forward  in  the  service  of  God 
and  the  Church.  In  Muenster  our  church,  which 
in  the  war  days  had  been  badly  wrecked  by  shells, 
was  again  repaired,  and  before  his  return  trip  from 
Europe  rededicated  by  Bishop  G.  Heinmiller. 

It  is  gratifying  that  it  became  possible  to 
strengthen  the  isolated  work  in  Poland,  now  under 
the  direct  supervision  of  the  Board  of  Missions, 
with  two  additional  pastors.  The  brethren  in  this 
country  (formerly  in  the  bounds  of  the  North 
German  Conference)  find  many  splendid  opportun¬ 
ities  for  missionary  and  evangelistic  work.  The 
field  is  white  and  ripe  to  the  harvest,  it  is  to  be  re¬ 
gretted,  however,  that  laborers  are  few. 

In  the  important  city  of  Biga,  Lettland  (former¬ 
ly  Russia),  in  which  we.  had  a  most  promising  start 
before  the  war,  a  fine  company  of  friends,  despite 
the  peculiar  difficulties  of  race  and  language, 
faithfully  clung  to  the  Evangelical  Church.  These 
with  others  earnestly  desire  that  she  continue  her 
missionary  operations  in  Riga.  Rev.  Woldemar  Stei- 
nert  and  wife  and  Mrs.  Hannah  Heinrichsen  are 
leading  our  forces  in  Latvia. 

Many  new  openings  invite  our  workers,  and  in 
the  light  of  these  the  great  lack  of  adequate  help 
makes  itself  felt.  Although  a  fine  number  of 
students  is  attending  our  Reutlingen  Seminary 
preparing  for  the  Gospel  ministry,  yet  when  we 
take  into  consideration  the  vast  field  with  its 
constantly  increasing  needs  there  is  this  great 

32 


lack  of  forces  to  supply  the  same.  In  all  depart¬ 
ments  of  its  activities  tke  great  evangelistic  suc¬ 
cess  of  our  European  work  is  manifest;  congre¬ 
gations  have  been  materially  strengthened,  Sun¬ 
day-schools  and  young  people’s  Leagues  are  devel¬ 
oping  rapidly  and  substantially,  and  through  the 
entire  Church  life  there  is  evident  a  spirit  of  alert 
and  cheerful  service  and  wholesome  striving.  For 
over  70  years  the  Evangelical  Church  has  carried 
forward  her  activities  in  Europe  to  the  glory  of 
God  for  the  salvation  of  precious  souls.  Through 
good  and  evil  report,  in  the  days  of  prosperity  as 
well  as  adversity  she  has  constantly  kept  in  view 
her  God-given  mission,  and  after  having  passed 
through  the  fiery  trials  and  testings  of  the  recent 
years  of  terror  the  blessing  and  approbation  of 
God  is  resting  upon  her  activities  in  abundant 
measure.  If  our  Church  had  a  mission  on  the  Eu¬ 
ropean  continent  before  the  terrifying  years  from 
1914-1918,  then  surely  the  fruits  of  her  labors  dur¬ 
ing  and  since  the  war-period  abundantly  prove  that 
this  mission  has  increased  in  importance  and  scope. 
It  is  her  obligation  as  a  Free  Church  to  continue 
in  the  well-begun  work  of  soul-saving  and  the  up¬ 
building  of  the  household  of  faith  with  still  greater 
sacrifice  and  more  earnest  endeavors.  If  the  in¬ 
viting  opportunities  from  all  sides  are  to  be  im¬ 
proved  to  the  best  possible  advantage  for  the 
great  Lord  of  the  harvest  and  his  cause,  then  it 
is  of  utmost  importance  that  more  than  ever  we 
support  our  forces  in  Europe  by  our  prayers  and 
means.  While  we  do  this  here  in  America  let  us 
not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  our  pastors  and 
members  across  the  Atlantic  themselves  support 
the  cause  entrusted  to  their  care  as  ability  is  given 
them.  The  ^  following  table  containing  the  latest 
statistical  data  shows  but  in  part  the  present 
status  of  the  work  in  our  European  conferences: 

33 


North  German  Conference:  Pastors  70,  Conver¬ 
sions  1390,  Accessions  1330,  Members  11,214,  Sun¬ 
day-school  Members  16,672,  Fund  secured  1,589,- 
248. 00M.  South  German  Conference:  Pastors  51, 
Conversions  2000,  Accessions  2003,  Members  10,875, 
Sunday-school  Members  20,044,  Funds  secured  1,- 
284,914.49M.  Switzerland:  Pastors  51,  Conversions 
543,  Accessions  550,  Members  7,632,  Sunday-school 
Members  16,630,  Funds  secured  422,742.75Fr. 

The  work  of  our  Church  in  Europe  merits  the 
best  support  of  the  mother  church  in  America; 
Europe  has  been  in  many  respects  our  most  pro¬ 
ductive  mission  field.  The  financial  needs  of  this 
work  are  growing  with  leaps  and  bounds.  Special 
contributions  will  be  greatly  appreciated.  All 
monies  for  this  purpose  should  be  sent  to  the 
treasurer  at  Cleveland,  Ohio. 


(See  next  page) 

SITTING :  B.  Kuecklich,  J.  Sehempp,  Sr.,.  Bishop 
S.  P.  Spreng,  A.  H.  Beck,  M.  Richter. 

STANDING:  O.  Ortmann,  W.  Joern,  E.  From- 
mann,  Dr.  E.  Frick,  0.  Schmid,  H.  Goebel,  J. 
Reichart,  J.  Sehempp,  Jr.,  C.  Rapp. 


34 


LEADERS  OP  THE  NORTH  AND  SOUTH  GERMAN  CONFERENCES'  PRESENT 
AT  THE  SERVICE,  IN  1922,  OF  THE  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE 

PUBLISHING  HOUSE  IN  STUTTGART. 


35 


ANNUITY  GIFTS 

■•Safe  Investment  Sacred  Trust 

You  can  provide  a  stated  income  for  life  for 
yourself  by  making  a  gift  to  THE,  MISSION  ARY 
SOCIETY  of  the  EVANGELICAL  CHURCH  on  the 
Annuity  Plan.  The  income  will  be  suie  and  laige  in 
comparison  with  equally  high  grade  investments. 
There  are  no  inheritance  taxes,  court  costs,  legal  fees 
to  be  paid.  No  worry  for  the  donor.  It  is  a  wise 
charity  because  there  is  no  will  to  be  broken  or  con¬ 
tested,  no  waste  or  delay  in  the  settlement  of  estates. 
The  resources  of  the  Missionary  Society  are  pledged 
to  the  Annuitants.  The  bonds  we  give  are  non- 
attachable.  Loss  by  fire  or  theft  is  impossible. 
There  is  no  fluctuation  in  value.  It  cannot  be  lost, 
diverted  or  dissipated.  The  rate  of  interest  varies 
with  the  age  of  the  annuitant  at  date  of  gift.  It  is  a 

good  way  to  provide  for  the  future. 

/ 

For  particulars  address 

THE  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY 
of  the 

EVANGELICAL  CHURCH 

1903  Woodland  Ave.  Cleveland,  Ohio 

Rev.  George  Edward  Epp,  Treasurer. 


36 


